Beihai Park is located in inner Beijing, west of Jingshan Mountain and northwest of the Palace Museum. The park covers 71 hectares with water area of 583 mu (38.8 hectares) and land area of 480 mu (32.2 hectares). It was the Outer Palace in the Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties then served as the imperial garden later in the Qing Dynasty. Beihai Park reopened in 1925 and is one of the oldest and the best preserved existing imperial gardens with many traditional Chinese characteristics. It is a 4-A tourist attraction and a member of China’s Important Heritage Sites under state protection. The layout of the park draws inspiration from a classical Chinese legend in which “a pond and three islands of blessing” (known as Taiye Pond and Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou Islands) were home to an immortal god, giving the whole park an air of mystery and fantasy. The park contains a 67m high Tibetan white pagoda and a stone tablet inscribed Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty praising the pleasant spring on the Jade Islet (Qiong Dao Chun Yin). The east coast of Beihai (the North Sea) is lined with several buildings, the Huafang and Jingqing Chambers, the Five-Dragon Pavilions, and Tianwang Temple, as well as the Nine Dragon Wall, suggesting park used to be a royal garden. Finally, on the south coast of Beihai, covered by shady evergreen pines and cypresses, stands the Round City.
Beihai Park Attrations
Beihai Park Story
1. The Nine Dragon Wall
China has three Nine Dragon Walls: the oldest one in Datong, Shanxi built in the Ming Dynasty; the newest one in the Palace Museum built in the late Qing dynasty; and the most special one here in Beihai Park which has a history over 200 years in length. It was built with colored glazed bricks to the dimensions of 25.86m x 6.65m x 1.42m. Wall ornamentation is exuberant and extravagant with each side inscribed with nine dragons in different colors, appearing to chase after pearls in the clouds. The dragons are depicted in vivid color, suggesting the supreme power of the emperor and the country. The wall also serves as the screen wall of the Dayuanjingzhi Temple, which is said to counteract fire disasters and exorcise evil spirits.
2、The Legend of Beihai Park’s Construction
The building of Beihai Park is inspired by an ancient legend. It is said that there were three islands of blessing far away in the East Sea — Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang — where lived an immortal god. Many emperors searched for an Elixir of Life on the islands, but with all the searches ending in vain, they demanded a pond be dug in the north of Beijing, naming it Taiye Pond to express their craving for immorality. Beihai Park took the exact same pattern with Beihai as Taiye Pond, Jade Islet as Penglai Island, and Round City and Xilitai Island as Yingzhou and Fangzhang Islands, respectively.
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